Numinus Wellness Inc. (TSX:NUMI, OTC:LKYSF) announced that it has launched a pilot program in Utah that offers ketamine-assisted psychotherapy as a health benefit for eligible employees.
The company’s clinics, which operate under the Cedar Psychiatry brand, have secured coverage from certain insurance companies for direct billing of ketamine for treatment-resistant depression, Numinus said in a statement. Still, access remains a challenge for many patients, the Canadian firm noted.
In order to bridge the gap, Cedar Psychiatry and HempLucid, a Utah-based provider of premium wellness products, have teamed up to ensure that employees with a mental health diagnosis can access care. HempLucid covers the cost of ketamine infusions while its existing healthcare plan covers the therapy component of ketamine-assisted therapy.
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CEO of HempLucid, Chase Hudson, said the program has been “revolutionary to how we operate as a business”.
Offering ketamine treatments to employees has shown “incredible benefits for healing, positivity, and productivity in the work environment”, Hudson said in a statement.
“We are in a new era. A new social contract is being formed between employees and employers, and businesses are being forced to take a look at the mental health of their employees. We're working hard to get out ahead of it and take care of our people in a proactive way."
Cedar Psychiatry clinics offer patients access to a range of mental health services, including ketamine therapy, transcranial-magnetic stimulation (TMS), Spravato, talk therapy and medication management.
Reid Robison, chief clinical officer at Numinus, told shareholders that the pilot expands access to ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to help individuals and families, but also a global workforce that continues to report increases in stress and burnout.
"It's more important than ever to take care of our individual and collective mental health… It is truly inspiring to see a company like HempLucid take care of employees in this way,” Robinson said.
Mental illness accounts for 70% of workplace disability costs, according to estimates. A Deloitte study found that the median yearly return-on-investment of C$1 spent on mental health programs was C$2.18 among companies that had mental health initiatives in place for three or more years, Numinus noted.
The Vancouver-based company said it is currently exploring how the Corporate KAP service offering can be expanded throughout its 13 clinics across North America.
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